Anybody here ever have an ACL repair surgery? How long does it take to get back in the saddle? Having the surgery on Tuesday and the doc is telling me to stay off of the bike for 3-4 months...sounds a little much too me. Hoping to hear about your experiences with this.

 

My wifes friend had this surgery a few months back, messed it up skiing. Its been about 4 months now, her biggest problem was trying to do to much to quickly. She set her self back a few weeks twice now but just overdoing it. She is in such a hurry to get better its making it worse. Best advise she got was lots of ice to keep the swelling down and lots of phisical therapy. Listen to those guys they now what there talking about.

She was doing the 'eliptical' in the gym a few weeks ago and managed to aggravate it some more.

 

+100 to Zacharia above. listen to your doc. or you will aggravate your current injury and you will stay injured longer.

 

I know I'm a newbie to HD, but I've been an Athletic Trainer (that guy that runs onto the field when someone gets hurt) for 7 years. The motion that the ACL stops is the same motion that you use when you push back on your feet during a stop. The lower leg (knee down) wants to come forward and the ACL stops this from happening. I will say 4 months is a long time, especially this time of year. Do you know which graft they will be using in surgery to repair the ACL. Might be able to give you a good riding timetable if I know which surgery you are having.

 

I had my ACL fixed last year. My neighbor was the surgeon and knows how much I live to ride; and my oldest daughter is a physical therapist. Between the two they put together an exercise and rehab program that put me back on my bike after six weeks. But, I have a dyna low rider that I rode for the first couple of months, its a lot closer to the ground and didn't seem to be as tough on my knee. I had my left knee, medial meniscus fixed in Sept. It was a lot less painful and I as back on my bike in about two weeks. I hope my old "war" injuries are behind me.

 

The trouble with the ACL is that it does so much to support the knee which is weak ligamentaly. If you're young, my advise is to not rush it, start with isometrics and ice and do your therapy religiously. It's also necessary to stretch your quads, hamstring and calf muscles because they have tighten up to protect the joint from the trauma. They'll also atrophy from the lack of use during your recovery. If it's your right knee you'll need enough strength, speed and agility to hit the brake pedal hard in an emergency. If it's your left knee the joint will need to be strong enough to hold up you and the bike at a stop with out pain. If you go too soon, stop and a shock of pain goes through your leg you're going over. And you won't be strong enough to pick the bike up. A lighter and lower bike is a good idea to start back slowly with.
If you're young and you push it too soon you will ALWAYS have trouble and pain in the knee for the rest of your life. Don't ask me how I know.

 

I tore my quad tendon this past Christmas Eve, and had surgery the day after Christmas. I've just now been able to get back on the bike, although the leg still doesn't feel good. Bad thing is that if I drop it, there's no way I'll be able to pick it up using my legs -- doc says that will take another six months to a year. Whatever you do, don't rush it, the doctor knows what he's talking about. I had a friend who had ACL surgery and was on crutches for two months. He pushed it too hard too fast, and tore it again about two weeks after coming off crutches. That's something you don't want to do. Good luck with your recovery.

 

Could not agree more with what bmorebhoy said. For me i rushed things to get back on the dirt bike a little to fast. Take your time and don't short cut your rehab. There is nothing fast about rehabing an ACL. Just stick to the physical therapy and before ya know it you will be back on the bike with stregth and flexibility.

Good luck!

 

Can you ride with it now?

I was back on my Road King about 3 weeks after my ACL was replaced. How quick you can be back on your bike will depend on several things.
The type of ACL replacement. Cadaver tendon (what I did) has the quickest recovery. The better shape your are in before the surgery will help as well. I did rehab before the surgery, this helped afterwards. And of course how good of a doctor you have will also play role.

How bad does it bother you now? You could always put it off until the weather gets cold. Physical therapy might help enough so you could put it off. Some people live happy productive lives without an ACL. Hines Ward for example.

Good luck

 

Yeh I can ride it now but I would hate to be in a situation where I have to put any muscle on that leg, like stopping it from falling over, cause I think I would be screwed. It hurts backing it up as well, knee popped the other day backing up and thought I was gonna drop it due to the pain. I don't believe I'd be able to handle the extra weight of another rider very well and my girlfriends been talking about riding with me but i'm scared to try it. So I have to get this thing fixed. They are using Cadaver tendon so the recovery should be a little quicker I hope. I need to get this done now since I may be moving and starting a new job in Sep and I'd like to be 100% by then. I appreciate all of this input from all of you.